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December 18th, 2006
Creating Ad Copy that Clicks
 Editor’s Note: Guest poster, Mona Elesseily, is the author of the first Yahoo! Search Marketing Handbook. Today, she offers up four solid tips on how to develop ad copy that help make users want to click.
Writing compelling ad copy is an important step in pay per click advertising. Sadly, this important step is often overlooked. Advertisers spend a lot of time selecting keywords and devising bidding strategies but often don’t invest in creating compelling ad copy. With changes to ad copy alone, I’ve seen accounts go from mediocre to stellar performance. To help get creative juices flowing, I’ll share four ways in which you can write persuasive ad copy.
Know your company’s USPs (unique selling propositions)
Figure out what makes your company different and mention the differences in your ads. For example, if your company offers same-day shipping or has a limited time offer (and your competitors don’t), include this in your ad. It’s differences like these (in products and services) that make or break sales.
Take a look at competitors’ ads
In many cases, search ads are unappealing. Try something catchier or use a different tone. A little creativity will never hurt any Sponsored Search account! In one account, I changed ad copy from this:
Flasks & Bar Accessories
Get unique bar sets, wine openers and more. Great for gifts. Order now.
To this:
Wonderful Wine Openers and Accessories
Entertain with sleek steel or soft wood for a Zen effect. Order today.
The second ad helped dramatically increase sales for two reasons. First, it was specific to wine openers. It didn’t try to sell a bunch of products (like the first version). The second reason was because the ad’s tone was appropriate to the audience it was targeting. When writing ad copy, keep in mind the type of product you’re selling and who you’re selling it to. If it’s a fun product like children’s toys, use an upbeat, cheery tone. If it’s a serious product like an enterprise software solution, use an appropriate business tone.
Appealing ad copy will make even more sense as Yahoo! Search Marketing introduces its new ranking algorithm (sometime called “marketplace design”). After the first quarter of 2006, the company will factor in bids, click through ratio or CTR (how often your ad is clicked on compared to other ads), and other factors to determine ad positioning. This could mean higher positioning and cheaper bid prices if your ad is more popular (clicked on more often) than your competitors’.
Create compelling ad copy around USPs
It takes time to come up with a compelling ad copy so give yourself reasonable time to brainstorm. Start with a few ideas. I like to write down all of a company’s unique selling propositions that I can think of. I then go about fleshing out the copy by thinking about tone (voice) and the way I want to communicate those USPs. If there’s enough room, I’ll throw in a call to action like “buy now” or “order today.”
To get creativity flowing, get a friend or co-worker to brainstorm with you. Or, jot down ad ideas in two or three short sessions. In many cases, initial ideas have inspired me to create dynamite ad copy.
Split test ads
Once you’ve found a winning ad, continually create new ads and test them against older ones. This feature is available in the new search advertising platform. I’ve seen conversion increases of 300 percent (and in some cases more) from testing alternative ads.
I know it can be a drag to brainstorm and create ad copy, but its well worth the effort. And, if you’re feeling creative, it can even be fun! Happy writing.
—Mona Elesseily, Internet Marketing Strategist, Page Zero Media
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No Comments yet Add your own
1. Yahoo Panama Search Engin&hellip | December 20th, 2006 at 1:19 pm
[...] Yahoo recently announced their new search engine marketing platform “Panama”. Existing customers most probably will all be migrate to the new platform by the Q1 of 2007 ending. It is currrently available for US account holder (as usual), this is following their recent reorganization that emphasize their intention to focus on the important segment for them, and this is definitely their answer to solve the mystery surrounding their advertising segment. Will they be able to beat Google at the advertising game that they have mastered so well. The concept is quite similar with what Google Adwords can offer to their customers. If you’re happy with Pay-per-click system to do your advertising, then this might be a good alternative to what Google can offer. Anyway, you can always check out their SEM blog for any updates. Among the topic covered are tips on how to maximise the possibilities to get your ads getting a click. For a giant corporation who have been number one website in terms of internet audience, this might still be a great challenge to stay on top of the search game. [...]
2. ARUN | February 16th, 2007 at 4:01 am
WONDERFUL BE IN TOUCH
3. Yahoo! Search Marketing B&hellip | April 5th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
[...] For more tips on writing good ad descriptions, see the post “Creating Ad Copy that Clicks” from Mona Elesseily, author of the Yahoo! Search Marketing Handbook. [...]
4. Yahoo! Search Marketing B&hellip | August 23rd, 2007 at 1:23 pm
[...] Zero’s Mona Elesseily, a search maven whose conference appearances always draw enthusiastic crowds, has just released her [...]
5. limewire | November 28th, 2007 at 7:10 am
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6. Landing Page Checklist | November 9th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Another important consideration is that the landing page must be relevant to the ad, or people will just click away on arrival.
You can get a free landing page checklist at my site.
7. DVI Ultimate Wealth | December 1st, 2008 at 4:31 am
Very informative. Thank you!
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9. Lisa | May 11th, 2009 at 3:34 am
Great tips. Thanks for sharing.
10. Web 2.0 Tools | September 16th, 2009 at 11:28 am
That’s really interesting, thanks for sharing
11. seo indonesia | November 14th, 2009 at 3:06 am
very informative post,.thx,.
12. Waste Management Services UK | November 21st, 2009 at 5:13 am
Its the creative bit in brainstorming sessions at our office that yield a great ad copy.
13. Paul Aannemer | November 29th, 2009 at 3:56 am
I always look at the ads of competitors first because your ad will be standing next to them
14. Peter | December 27th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
You aint got nothing on me…(run)…
15. Bugatti | December 27th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
@trav nope, not like that
16. Private Foundations | January 14th, 2010 at 1:07 am
I think a competitors copy must only be a yardstick. The beacon must be one’s own vision and that should raise the benchmark for your company.
17. Divan Beds | January 14th, 2010 at 5:45 am
Yahoo is reinventing itself and keeping pace with the dynamics operating on the net.
18. Waste Management Company UK | January 15th, 2010 at 6:52 am
One must needs reinvent oneself and keep pace with the ever-growing changes on the net.
19. quincy | January 26th, 2010 at 7:21 am
very interesting and so informative….
thanks so much
20. Andrew Jason | February 4th, 2010 at 1:16 am
Coming Soon, I will go to Great some information(http://www.9manson.com) and Relax in the next month.
21. Rakesh | February 11th, 2010 at 5:55 am
Thanks.It’s a precise note on advertising. Thanks a lot for sharing this information.
22. Brent | February 12th, 2010 at 1:56 am
Very informative. Thank you!
23. typo3 templates | February 14th, 2010 at 10:32 pm
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